1990 - 1999

1990

Phase 1 (Technology Demonstrator) of the development was commenced to create the proof of concept.

1993

Full funding approved from April 1993 and development work for Phase 1 started in June.

1995

First technology demonstrator, TD-1, rolled out on 17th November.

1997

Multi-Mode Radar (MMR) for LCA design work started at HAL Hyderabad division and LRDE.

2000 - 2009

2001

4th January - the historic first flight of the Technology Demonstrator TD-1 marking a new era in the aviation history of India. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee named LCA – "Tejas" meaning Radiance in ancient Indian language Sanskrit.

2002

6th June - TD-2 made her successful maiden flight.

2003

Tejas crossed the sonic barrier for the first time

25th November - PV-1 made her successful maiden flight.

2005

1st December - PV-2 made her successful maiden flight.

2006

1st December - PV-3 flew for the first time for 27 minutes at an altitude of 2.5 km and at a speed of Mach 0.8. PV-3 was equipped with a more advanced pilot interface, refined avionics and higher control law capabilities compared with the previous versions.

2007

25th April - The first Limited Series Production LCA (LSP-1) made her first flight and reached a speed of Mach 1.1 in the very first flight.

PV-2 and PV-3 underwent sea-level trials at INS Rajali Naval Air Station, Arakkonam to study the effects of flying at sea-level, as all earlier trials have been conducted at Bengaluru which is 3,000 feet (910 m) above sea-level. The reliability of the LCA systems under the hot and humid conditions, as well as low level flight characteristics was tested.

7th September - Tejas Prototype Vehicle (PV-1) made a successful flight with two external drop tanks of 800 Ltrs capacity

25th October - Tejas PV-1 fired R-73 (CCM) missile for the first time. The trials were conducted off the Goa coast at INS Hansa Naval Air Station.

2nd June - First Flight of LCA Tejas LSP-4. Flight. In addition to the LSP-3 standard of preparation, the aircraft also flew with the Countermeasure Dispensing System.

19 November - First Flight of LCA Tejas LSP-5.

2011

10th January - Certification for the Release to Service.

2012

9th March - The Tejas Light Combat Aircraft, LSP-7 accomplished its maiden flight from HAL Airport in Bengaluru
on 9th March 2012

29th April - The Naval version of the Indian Light Combat Aircraft Tejas, made its maiden flight from the HAL Airport in Bengaluru. This was a significant milestone in the history of Indian Aviation in designing a naval variant of a fighter aircraft.

2013

22nd February - The LCA took part in the Iron Fist Exercise in Pokhran, Jaisalmer

20th December - Initial Operation Clearance - 2
Indian Defence Minister Mr. A.K. Antony handed over the "Release to Service Document" of the country’s own Light Combat Aircraft to The Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal NAK Browne.

2014

1st October - First Flight of LCA Tejas SP 1 - The first Tejas Light Combat Aircraft from the batch of 20 ‘series production’ or full-fledged fighters flew for about 25 minutes in Bengaluru. The flight of ‘SP1’ was piloted by HAL’s Chief Test Pilot Air Cmde K.A. Muthanna(retd). The First Flight of SP1 was achieved within nine months of receiving the penultimate flight worthiness certification, called IOC-2 (initial operational clearance) in December 2013.

20th December - Maiden Ski Jump of LCA NP-1 - The first prototype of the light combat aircraft (LCA) Tejas Naval version - LCA NP-1 completed its maiden flight as part of the carrier compatibility tests at the shore-based test facility in Goa.

2015

17th January - IAF gets first indigenously-built Light Combat Aircraft Tejas - The LCA Tejas Series Production-1 (SP1) was handed over by Defence Minister Mr. Manohar Parrikar to Indian Air Force Chief Air Marshal Arup Raha in Bengaluru on Saturday.

7th February - The Second Prototype of the Light Combat Aircraft, the NP-2, flew her maiden flight on 7th February 2015 from HAL Airport in Bengaluru. Piloted by Capt. Shivnath Dahiya (Indian Navy), the aircraft performed flawlessly in the first-flight

2016

21st - 23rd January - India's indigenous Light Combat Aircraft Tejas for the first time participated in an International Air Show in Bahrain, an event witnessed by External Affairs Minister of India Smt. Sushma Swaraj.
The display of India's defence technology comes at a time when the government is giving a strong push to its flagship 'Make in India' programme.

18th May - IAF Chief Arup Raha has his first sortie in LCA Tejas; says it’s a “good aircraft” for inductionIndian Air Force (IAF) chief Arup Raha on18th May 2016 had his first sortie in the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), after which he called it a “good aircraft for induction”. “It is my first sortie in Tejas, it is a good aircraft for induction into IAF operations,” Raha said.

1st July - Historical day for India: First squadron Inducted into the IAFHindustan Aeronautics Limited handed over the first two Tejas aircrafts to Indian Air Force which will make up the 'Flying Daggers' 45, the name of the first squadron of the LCA.

August - Leh - High Altitude and Hot Weather TrialsThe Tejas Trainer PV-6 (KH-T-2010) underwent High Altitude and Hot Weather Trials in Leh. Along with the machine, the men responsible for the activities also gained more experience by the harsh weather conditions.

8th October - LCA Tejas Makes Debut Appearance At 84th Air Force Day CelebrationsIndia's Light Combat Aircraft Tejas performed at the 84th Air Force Day Celebrations amid Loud Cheers from the audience at the Hindon Air Force Base on the outskirts of New Delhi. Rising up to the expectations to the theme of this year's IAF Day "MAKE IN INDIA"

8th October - LCA Tejas Participates in 85th Air Force Day Celebrations with ground and aerial display by the Tejas

28th November - Singapore Defence Minister Dr. NG Eng Hen flies in the LCA Tejas Trainer with Air Vice-Marshal A.P Singh. As the first civilian foreigner, Dr. Eng Hen took a half-an-hour flight in Tejas at the Kalaikunda airbase and said “It is an excellent aircraft and it is very impressive."

12th December - LCA Tejas SP-7 flew for the first time

2018

7th January - LCA Tejas at the 69th Republic Day paradeLCA Tejas flew for the second consecutive year t at the 69th Republic Day parade. Three Tejas aircrafts participated in the fly-past.

3rd February - General David L Goldfein, Chief of Staff of US Air Force flew in the Tejas in a special flight that took off from the Jodhpur Air Force Station. The US Air Force chief was accompanied by Air Vice Marshal AP Singh as co-pilot during the 40-minute sortie. General Goldfein is the first foreign chief commander to fly in the Tejas

7th February - General André Lanata, Air Force Chief of Staff, French Air Force flew a sortie in the LCA Tejas at Air Force Station in Jodhpur.

9th February - LCA Tejas SP-5 flew for the first time

13th March - LCA Tejas SP-8 flew for the first time

24th March - LCA Tejas SP-9 flew for the first time

8th to 21st April - LCA Tejas participates at IAF Gagan Shakti Exercise 2018.
The Tejas was put to trial by the Indian Air Force (IAF) in war-like operational conditions during Gagan Shakti, its biggest ever 14-day war exercise. The exercise started on April 8 and concluded on April 21. A total of eight Tejas Aircrafts were deployed during the exercise.

27th April - LCA Tejas LSP-7 Fires Derby BVR Missile The Missile Achieves Full Operational Capability leading to an important element for FOC of Tejas.

India’s Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) together with its variants, is the smallest and lightest Multi-Role Supersonic Fighter Aircraft of its class. This single engine, Compound-Delta-Wing, Tailless Aircraft is designed and developed by ADA with HAL as the principal partner along with DRDO, CSIR, BEL, DGAQA, IAF & IN to meet diverse needs of the Indian Air Force (IAF) and Indian Navy (IN).